So, of course the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims was my first stop. This gorgeous cathedral, with all it's stained glass and art did not disappoint. What an amazing piece of history, art, architectural masterpiece. No wonder it had more than a half a million visitors in 2006!
My next stop is next to the Cathedral at the Palais du Tau. It was the one time residence of the kings of France, and now houses the Musée de l'OEuvre. The Musée de l'OEuvre displays statuary and tapestries from the cathedral, along with reliquaries and other objects associated with the coronation of the French kings.
Next I decided to do something I haven't yet done while in France; champagne tour at Champagne Ruinart. I'm so glad I did it! What an amazing site to see. It was far more than a champagne tasting tour. They treated us like we were special guests. Everything about this place is impressive. From their treatment of us, to the staircase that plunges down into the cool underground of chalk tunnels, to their amazing and expensive champagne (expensive for me anyway.) The chalk tunnels were hollowed out under the city to a dept of up to 38 meters, for the purpose of storing it's bottles. It became a historical sight in 1931. It extends over three levels with eight kilometers of galleries. At the end of the the very informative tour, we sat in a living room type of area for our tasting. It made it feel very comfortable and we were able to socialize with the rest of our group.
After the wine tour we thought it'd be a good idea to have some dinner. We decided to eat at La Table Anna. We treated ourselves to a fancy five course dinner that started off with terrine of foie gras, apple chutney on gingerbread. Apparently, inhabitants of Reims are also known as "the gingerbread eaters," so we were excited to see this on the menu. We also had Beef Wellington, which I have always wanted to try. It was a little rare for me, but I enjoyed it anyway.
After that meal, it was definitely time to head to our hotel. Since we were still feeling fancy from our dinner, we decided to splurge and stay a night in a fancy hotel, le Chateau Les Crayerers. It was $500 per night but let me just say, you get what you pay for at this hotel....luxury! We lived like royalty for a night and we loved every minute and every dollar of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment